CIVIL WAR II

I am major stoked over this one. CIVIL WAR remains one of my favorite comics epics of recent years, and this follow-up seems poised to be just as awesome and just as important. The original story really changed comic books, the way that Alan Moore’s WATCHMEN changed comics two decades before it. It forced us all to stop seeing just bright-colored pictures of people in outlandish costumes doing fantastical things and instead look at the comics medium with a serious eye, showing that comics can and should address serious matters. The central question it raised—to what extent should superheroes be overseen and controlled by the government—is a genie out of its bottle. Never again can a superhero wage his/her war against crime without it rearing its head. Never again will such benign super-powered vigilantism be accepted de facto. The funny papers, like the issue itself, aren’t just black and white anymore.

This new storyline looks to be just as highbrow in concept, asking another difficult question: If precognition were possible, is it morally justifiable to act to prevent a crime before it is committed, by taking action against the criminal? Written by Brian Michael Bendis, the man who, more than any other, has done his part to forge the modern Marvel Universe, it’s guaranteed to be good. And I’m excited that Iron Man gets to be the good guy this time!

Guess I just gave away whose side I was on last time, didn’t I, and whose side I’m on this time?